Youth Employment

Growing up in poverty and conflict can have a devastating effect on children and youth. WUSC offers opportunities for young people who might otherwise fall through the cracks. We aim to develop youth’s employability skills, so that they are better equipped to find jobs and provide for themselves and their families. WUSC’s work in this area includes:

delivering vocational training and enhanced employment opportunities for trauma-affected young women and men in Sri Lanka;

building the confidence, knowledge, and skills of tsunami-affected youth and transitioning former child combatants from a military to civilian life in Sri Lanka;

offering vocational training for youth after decades of civil war and unrest in South Sudan.

With one quarter of the population living below the poverty line, providing basic food and shelter for their families is a top priority for youth in Nepal. Young men and women begin working at an early age taking whatever job they can find and as a result, youth do not have the time or the means to further their professional skills.

Women especially have a difficult time finding quality jobs as social and cultural norms keep them out of the workforce. The young women who do have jobs often face widespread gender discrimination.

Results:

45,000 young women and men from marginalized groups trained for employment: it is expected that 80% will secure employment following training

Earlier this month, WUSC wrapped up a remarkable youth entrepreneurship and employment project in the southern parts of Peru’s capital city, Lima. The initiative was carried out in partnership with UNACEM Association, a social responsibility arm of UNACEM S. A., a Peruvian cement company, and with funding support from the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada.

Skilled labour is essential for rebuilding Haiti and PCV Haiti partner the National Institute for Vocational Training (INFP) is revamping the technical and vocational training (VT) industry in the country. Christian Duplan of INFP works alongside PCV Haitito rebuild the VT sector with a focus on youth skills and employment training in fields and trades in high-demand in Haiti.

WUSC’s landmark event will take place this year in Montreal as we partner up once again with CECI (the Centre for International Studies and Cooperation) to give you the Great Development Debates. Participants can look forward to an informative and engaging weekend with over 400 people expected to gather at this annual conference event. NGOs, academics, students and development leaders will share best practices and ideas about international development.

WUSC is embarking on a new initiative in Nepal that will revamp the country’s vocational-training institutions, providing youth with the skills needed for well-paying jobs to build the economy and create a more equitable and prosperous country.

Krishnaveni Jeganathan is 23 years old and manages an innovative, multi-faceted business. Based on her creativity and enthusiasm, the success of her business is not unexpected, but the location of the business comes as a bit of a surprise. Krishnaveni’s lives and works on Abbotsleigh Estate, a tea plantation community in central Sri Lanka. Not the usual location for a dynamic young female entrepreneur.

This year’s International Seminar in Burkina Faso will bring together Local Committee members and youth from 5 different countries: Burkina Faso, Canada, Guinea, Ghana and Senegal. Our fearless participants are giving up one week of studies to explore our 2014 theme “Youth Employability: Challenges for inclusion in the labour market and for youth entrepreneurship”.

P. Luxan is a young man that wasn’t very interested in school. He studied until the O-level (a General Certificate of Education qualification), but didn’t pass. Without his O-level, finding a good job proved to be a significant challenge.